The Master and Margarita, recognized as one of the essential classics of modern Russian literature, is an audacious revision of the stories of Faust and Pontius Pilate. The novel's portrayal of Soviet life in the 1930s is so ferociously accurate that it could not be published during Bulgakov's lifetime, appearing only in a censored edition in the 1960s.

One hot spring, the devil arrives in Moscow, accompanied by a retinue including a beautiful naked witch and an immense talking black cat with a fondness for chess and vodka. The visitors quickly wreak havoc in a city that refuses to believe in either God or Satan. But they also bring peace to two unhappy Muscovites: the Master, a writer criticized for daring to write a novel about Christ and Pontius Pilate, and Margarita, who loves the Master so deeply that she is willing to go to hell for him.

A novel of inexhaustible energy, humor, and philosophical depth, Bulgakov's work emerges splendidly in this English translation, revealing its nuances for the first time.